Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-09-08
DAILY HERALD.
CHICADEE AND GOLDFINCH.
Two Birds That Afford Pleasure
IN Those Who study Them.

TO ThOse VINO stuuy
Read Emerson's "Titmouse," and
YOU will recognize this charming little
creature without the help of your
glass. Not only in the spring and
fall. but on the coldest winter days
his bright "Chick-a-dee-dee--dee-
dee" that Thoreau calls "silver
tinkling," rings through the air.
When you hear it, if you look care
fully over the tree, you will see a
fluffy little body with black hood
that is relieved by whitish side
pieces, vest to match the sides of
the hood and dark gray coat for
contrast.
He is fitting about hither and
thither, clinging to the side of a
tree one minute and picking at the
moss on branch the next; and you
will hardly catch more than glimpse
of his black cap and gray and white
clothes unless you come nearer to
him. If you care for a better view
YOU need not be afraid of frightening
him, for he has the most winning con-
fidence in man, inspecting the trees
in your front yard or those in the
woods with the same unconscious
concern.
You are inclined to think that the
busy chickadee takes no time to medi-
tate, and sees only the bright side of
life; and when you hear his plaintive
minor whistle echoing through the
woods you wonder if it can have come
from the same little creature whose
merry chick-a-dee-dee you know SO
we'll.
This little atom at full breath
Hurting defiance at vast death,
never does anything by halves. When
he is happy he is the best company
one could hope for ON winters walk /;
when he is busy he seems the realiza-
ton of perpetual motion, and when he
gives up his ordinary pursuits and pre-
pares to rear family he goes to work
in the same general fashion. He leaves
civilization with its many distractions
and goes into the woods. Even there
he is not content to sit on the top of a
nest, and as his bill is too delicate to
be used as a saw, he fits up an old
woodpecker's hole in the side of
stump or dead stub and retires from
the world with the determination of
hermit.
In lining his nest he shows the deli
cacy and taste one naturally expects
from him. Although the bottom of
the nest is foot or more below the
hole, it is far prettier than most of the
bird homes that are on exhibition in
the forest. Bits of fresh green moss
give it dainty air, and bring out to
the best advantage the dark gray of
the squirrel or rabbit fur that makes it
snug and warm. One is tempted to
wonder where the fur came from, and
if the ardent chickadee tweaked it out
Of the back OF some preoccupied squir-
rel. Perhaps the demure little recluse
has a spice of wickedness after all, and
his satisfaction in his secure retreat
has something of exultant mischief
in it.
Like the chickadee, the yellowbird
and American goldfnch is one of the
captivating little birds that make Au-
dubon workers feel most strongly the
barbarism of the bird wearing fash
ion. A trific larger than the titmouse
say third as large as robin-his
slender form fits him for flying about
in the air, while the chickadee, who
spends his time fitting around the
tree trunks and branches, is naturally
plump and fluffy.
In summer the goldfnch's black
cap, black wings and tail set off HE
bright yellow body to the best advan-
tage, but in September he loses his
beauty, and until the next April or
May looks very much like his plain
little wife. His black trimmings are
gone, and he has become flaXen brown
above and whitish brown below-alto-
gether commonplace in appearance.
Perhaps it is his annual humiliation
that gives him such sweet dispo-
sition.
He has the characteristic finch bill
"a short, stout cone, well adapted for
cracking the seeds that form the larg-
er part of his diet. He is called the
thistle-bird because of his fondness
for the seeds of the thistles, and you
will soon discover that his favorite
perch is thistle top.
He builds quite late in the summer,
generally in July, sometimes choos-
ing low apple-tree and sometimes a
crotch in the branch of large tree
for his nest. But wherever it is, the
nest is always dainty, compact little
one, lined with Just such. soft, downy
things as one would imagine such a
bird would select. There is room foi
only four or five eggs, and these are
very pale blue, unspotted.
In summer the yellow bird reminds
you strongly of the canary, and his
song carries the resemblance still
further. His tender, plaintive call
however, is much sweeter then any
of the notes of the canary.
Bay bee, bay ee-bee, he sings out,
while on the wind, and the rhythm OF
the notes correspond to that of his pc
culiar undulating flight, which Mr..
Burroughs has described with such
careful detail.
OF all our common birds, with the
exception of the humming bird, the
little gold-fnch is the daintiest, the
most fairly like. As he tutters his
wings few times and then let's him
self float down on the air, too happy
to do anything but enjoy the blue sky
and sunshine, he seems a veritable
bird ariel. Think of taking the life of
such an exquisite little creature to
wear him on your hat Audubon
Magazine.
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